Life is Nothing but a Joke
by the-key-of-the-twilight
Summary: SPOILERS! PG 13 because of some of the angst. Anyways, this is a oneshot. Sheelos galore! This is about Zelos' past.


Life is Nothing but a Joke

Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of Symphonia or Namco and I probably never will.

A/N: This is my first one-shot and angst fic so please don't flame me if you don't like it! By the way, the italicized words are thoughts.

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-Flanoir- 

It was snowing. Everything was covered in white, fluffy snow. The children built snowmen, the adults headed home for a warm cup of coffee, and the animals leaped and danced in this wonderful white fantasy.

"It's really snowing…" Zelos said, looking up at the sky, "it's really snowing." He stretched out his hand and a fluffy, white snowflake fell. It was cold to the touch; just how Zelos felt every time he saw the snow. _Well… it's white snow… at least it's white… yeah… white… _It melted softly in his hand and disappeared.

Suddenly, a flash of red appeared and Zelos winced. _What was that? _He looked down on the ground and everything was red. Zelos gasped in horror. The children weren't there anymore. The adults had already gone home. The animals were gone. Only a little boy stood in the snow with a snowman, and a woman stood beside him. The white fantasy had turned into a bloody nightmare.

The Chosen's legs failed him and he fell down to his knees on the balcony. He couldn't stop shaking. Events of the past flashed through his mind. His mother… that half-elf… the snowman… the red snow… He screamed, but no sound came out. His hands covered his eyes.

"No… no…" he said to himself, "no… please…" He knew he was hallucinating. He just didn't know how to stop. _I'll just go back into my room and everything will be okay._ Zelos wanted to move. He wanted to go back into his room. But he couldn't. His body wouldn't move. The young man was frozen there, unable to run away from his memories. He tightly closed his eyes and then opened them again, but the red snow was still there.

Tears came to his eyes. _No! I'm so stupid… how could I? _But he couldn't stop his tears. He didn't want to cry, but he had to. His heart forced him to. Zelos cried, his hot tears leaving marks on his face. He didn't care about anything anymore. He just wanted to die. _I should've never been born… _He was admitting his mother's words to himself. _I'm so useless… I always cause people trouble…they all hate me… they think I'm a burden to deal with…_

His tears overflowed. _No one wants me… not even my mother… I was just a burden to her… _The Chosen couldn't stop his own mental torture. The less he wanted to think about it, the more he did think about it. _I'm sorry… I'm so sorry… I'm sorry…_ He repeated the words that he had said when his mother died. _If it wasn't for me… she still might be alive and… and happy… _Then, he heard a voice.

"Zelos? Zelos? Where are you?" It was a female's voice. Zelos could feel her comer closer and closer toward him. "Zelos? Is that you?" She ran up to him at the balcony and laid a hand on his shoulder. Zelos recognized the hand at once. It was so familiar after all the times she had hit him. It was Sheena's hand. It was Sheena. She had come for him. The Chosen abruptly turned around and grabbed Sheena.

"Zelos? What the heck is wrong with you?" she shouted as he stared at her. The assassin gasped as she saw his eyes. They were red and teary, like he had been crying for hours. Sheena had never seen Zelos like this. He was always so carefree, so happy, and so selfish. Yet seeing him finally crying made Sheena feel sympathy for him. She touched his cheek and said, "What's wrong?" He brought her closer.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry," he whimpered. Sheena looked at him baffled.

"Sorry about what?"

"I'm sorry I caused so much trouble. I'm sorry." He dug his neck into her shoulder. "I'm so sorry." Sheena rubbed his back.

"Why so sad all of a sudden? It's not like you," she said.

"It's the snow."

"The snow? Why?" The Chosen did not answer. "Please, tell me." The young man calmed down a bit and decided to spill his secret.

"My mother, she was never happy. She was forced to marry my father, the previous Chosen. Then, she had me. I always knew she never really loved me. I just wasn't like a 'son' to her. My father and my mother weren't very close either. However, my half-sister, Seles, and I got along very well. Her mother was the former wife. She was jealous of my mother," Zelos explained.

"And what happened?" Sheena asked. Zelos looked at the snow again. It flashed red again, however, with Sheena, he was able to bear it.

"It was snowing one day. It was a record snowfall. My mother and I went outside to build a snowman. I was having fun since I never get time to spend with my mother. However, then it happened. The snow was red."

"Red?"

"Yes, red. The snowman fell apart and I was shocked. Then I realized that the red snow was my mother's blood. A half-elf had killed her. A half-elf under the doings of Seles' mother. I was petrified. I couldn't move. I was so frozen from shock. And right before she died, my mother grasped my shoulder and said, 'You should have never been born…' After that, all I could whisper was 'I'm sorry… I'm sorry…'"

Sheena looked at Zelos. The Chosen started to cry again. "I began to believe that my life was a joke."

"You're life is not a joke!" The Chosen stared at her with teary eyes. "I know that. Everyone deserves to live. You shouldn't torture yourself by thinking of these things! I'm sorry, but your mother was wrong! You deserve to be alive, you deserve to have another chance at happiness," she protested. The young man stared at her in disbelief. She had never said that to him before. She had always accused him for being a pervert or someone who couldn't do anything, and here she was, cheering him up. He felt his head droop in shame.

"I really am a bad person you know."

"No you're not! I was just kidding! I've never doubted you as a good person deep in your heart!" Zelos looked up and felt Sheena stroke his hair. "You aren't a bad person. That, I know." He hesitated, but than stared straight into her eyes.

"Thank you, Sheena."

"No problem." The Chosen leaned against her and breathed upon her neck. Sheena chuckled quietly and continued to stroke his hair. "I know you're a good person Zelos. And thanks to you, I also have another chance at happiness." Zelos smiled and then drifted off to sleep.

_Sheena… you're also my other chance at happiness…_

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A/N: That was it! So, how do you like it? Anyways, I hope you enjoyed it! Please review! 


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